Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has reportedly entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The agreement represents a continuation of Circle’s strategy to embed USDC more deeply into the core infrastructure of centralized exchanges. While the exact details of the deal have not been publicly disclosed, industry insiders suggest it is structured similarly to Circle’s previous revenue-sharing models with other major platforms.
This partnership comes at a critical time for Circle, which is actively working to increase USDC’s market share in the global stablecoin ecosystem. Despite holding a circulating supply of around $62 billion, USDC continues to lag behind Tether (USDT), which currently boasts a supply exceeding $160 billion. The deal with Bybit is seen as a strategic move to help close this gap by aligning financial incentives with platforms that can drive adoption at scale.
Model follows Circle’s proven USDC expansion strategy
In its earlier agreements, Circle offered compelling financial structures to motivate partners. For example, its arrangement with Coinbase involves a 50/50 split of interest income generated from USDC reserves. Likewise, a previous deal with Binance reportedly included a $60.25 million upfront payment and recurring monthly incentives based on the exchange’s USDC balances. Although Binance ended its USDC auto-conversion policy in 2023, these partnerships helped solidify USDC’s early foothold among top-tier trading venues.
The agreement with Bybit appears to follow the same pattern, providing the exchange with a share of the yield generated from USDC’s reserve assets. While the financial specifics remain confidential, the move signals Circle’s commitment to using mutually beneficial revenue models to boost USDC’s utility and circulation. With Bybit’s rapidly expanding user base and global reach, the partnership is expected to create new on-ramps for USDC liquidity and transactional volume.
Strategic partnerships key to USDC’s global push
As competition in the stablecoin market intensifies, Circle has made it clear that partnerships will be central to its growth playbook. Sources suggest that multiple large exchanges with significant USDC holdings may already be engaged in similar, though unannounced, revenue-sharing agreements with Circle. These arrangements provide clear incentives for exchanges to promote USDC trading pairs, deepen liquidity pools, and integrate USDC into user-facing products.
The Bybit deal not only reinforces this trend but also serves as a public signal to other exchanges and institutions. Circle is doubling down on a collaborative growth model, one that aligns its interests with those of trading platforms to build a more stable, transparent, and efficient digital currency ecosystem.
With stablecoins now recognized as critical infrastructure for both crypto and traditional finance, Circle’s latest partnership underscores the importance of strategic alignment. Whether this move will significantly dent Tether’s dominance remains to be seen, but it is undeniably a calculated step toward expanding USDC’s global footprint through trusted exchange partners like Bybit.
